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Bhelen Aeducan
Due to grey morality of Dragon Age series and questionable actions Bhelen Aeducan can be considered as a villain or at least an anti-villain considering his actions if he becomes king. Background Third of King Endrin Aeducan's children, Bhelen of House Aeducan has always been considered the last and least important of his family. Not the heir, nor the favourite, and not as accomplished as either sibling, Bhelen's most notable trait is his ability to stay out of trouble. Bhelen also has a concubine, Rica Brosca, the sister of the Dwarf Commoner Warden. Involvement A Tale of Orzammar Bhelen appears at Tapster's Tavern with Frandlin Ivo in the Orzammar Commons in disguise in order to hire a mercenary to go to the Aeducan Thaig on his behalf. He plants a mole by the name of Orson Haver to assist them in reaching the chamber within the thaig where he would plant the Aeducan Shield in order to lure his older sibling, the Dwarf Noble, out to a more vulnerable location. Once they reach the tomb he attempts to kill the mercenary in order to ensure they could not reveal the shield had only recently been planted by him. Bhelen is defeated however and instead offers a compromise, permitting the mercenary to leave alive provided they went to the surface and did not return. Depending on the player's choices, he will either honor his arrangement and let the mercenary leave without incident or will incite Orson Haver to kill him or her should the latter insist on taking revenge. Dragon Age: Origins The Dwarf Noble Warden is the second, and most popular, of the Aeducan children. S/he first meets Bhelen alongside Trian, their older brother. Trian, lording over Bhelen, has forced him to come along with him, during which, Bhelen mentions, Trian has been hurling abuse at casteless dwarves. Here it is suggested that the Noble has a good relationship with their younger brother, while they both are on bad terms with Trian. Shortly after the Warden is pronounced Commander, Bhelen privately reveals that Trian plans to remove the Dwarf Noble from the picture, assuring himself the throne. The Dwarf Noble may express a desire to kill Trian or to wait for him to make the first move. If the intention is to kill him, after leaving the Aeducan Thaig, Trian and a group of royal guards will be waiting at the crossroads and a fight will break out. If the more cautious approach is taken, Trian and his guards will be lying slain on arrival. Shortly after the Dwarf Noble examines his corpse, the King, Bhelen and Pyral Harrowmont will arrive demanding answers. Regardless of what actually happened, the scout and Frandlin Ivo give the exact same damning testimony. When the Noble is thrown in prison, a sentence is decided for him/her and Gorim Saelac, the Noble's second. Gorim is to be stripped of his honour as a warrior, have his name struck from his family's records and be exiled to the surface; Harrowmont pushes for a similar sentence for the Noble but Bhelen has the support of a good half of the Assembly; the Noble is sentenced not only to the same dishonour as Gorim, but also to be sent into the Deep Roads to die at the hands of the darkspawn, and it becomes painfully obvious that Bhelen played the game of dwarven politics better than any would have given him credit for. If the Warden is of the Dwarf Commoner Origin, they will return to find that his or her half-sister, Rica Brosca, has become Bhelen's consort and has borne him a son. Both she and their mother now live in the Royal Palace with Bhelen. A Paragon of Her Kind After the death of King Endrin Aeducan, Bhelen sought a quick and easy election to the throne. However, Lord Harrowmont, having promised King Endrin on his deathbed that Bhelen would not succeed him, put himself up as an alternative candidate. Their dispute has left the Assembly in deadlock, with no one running the city and the Legion of the Dead being stuck in the Dead Trenches without orders to press ahead. Since neither can gain the upper hand, the Assembly has closed Orzammar off from the surface, to the chagrin of the dwarves and merchants living there. According to Shaper Czibor, Prince Bhelen is interested to know more about the reign of Paragon Bemot, who ruled Orzammar during the Fourth Blight and disbanded the Assembly as well as setting some other precedents. Bhelen also believes in employing casteless in the army. The Warden, regardless of origin, can choose to support his claim. A Dwarf Commoner is sent to Bhelen's right-hand, Vartag Gavorn, by Rica. Gavorn, however, is suspicious of a Dwarf Noble, thinking they are planning to extract revenge on Bhelen; the Noble has to convince him they are here on behalf of the Wardens through persuasion. Speaking to Wojech Ivo also reveals that his younger brother, Frandlin, became the left-hand of Bhelen. Bhelen's first task is providing proof to the heads of Houses Dace and Helmi that Harrowmont bribed them for their votes with the same piece of land. Should they do this, Gavorn will take them to Bhelen for an audience. The prince then asks the Warden to go to Lowtown and deal with the Carta, who have taken advantage of the turmoil to extend their holdings in the city. When the Warden returns, Bhelen congratulates the Warden, before asking that s/he end the deadlock in the Assembly by finding the only known living Paragon - Branka, who disappeared into the Deep Roads with her entire house (excluding her cuckolded husband Oghren) two years ago in search of the Anvil of the Void - just as Harrowmont does. Should a Dwarf Noble join with him, Bhelen expresses surprise that his sibling has chosen to work with him. Here s/he can ask him why he turned on him/her, as well as if he killed their father. Although he leaves it ambiguous as to whether he killed their father, Bhelen reveals that King Endrin inherited the throne after his elder brother died in an Honour Proving against a convicted murderer, and claims that he put poison on the murderer's blade to ensure his brother's loss. The Noble can also claim s/he is now simply working to put an Aeducan on the throne, to which Bhelen comments that he underestimated his older sibling's pragmatism. If Bhelen is crowned king, he calls for Lord Harrowmont's execution to ensure unity in preparation for the Blight. If Harrowmont is crowned instead, Bhelen calls on a group of loyal deshyrs and attacks Harrowmont and the Warden, dying in the ensuing brawl. Should a male Noble ask his brother to accept his son into House Aeducan, Bhelen agrees to accept Mardy and her son once the Warden finishes helping him become king; he also teases his older brother about using a noble hunter. If, having worked for Bhelen consistently and completed his tasks, the Warden crowns Bhelen king, he gives him/her his elder brother's old hammer as a reward; otherwise, he provides an impersonal Aeducan Mace. If a Dwarf Noble crowns him, Bhelen also re-inducts them into House Aeducan as thanks. Two casteless can be heard discussing Bhelen if he is crowned king. One praises his marriage to Rica, since she was a commoner and he a noble, and mentions he has been recruiting "anyone who can hold a sword" to fight the darkspawn - a policy he can get behind. If a Dwarf Noble survives the Blight and crowned Bhelen, he restores all his brother/sister's rights as well as those of Gorim and gives them leave to return to Orzammar. If s/he dies, Bhelen sends Gavorn to the funeral as the royal representative. He asks that the Warden's body be returned to Orzammar so they can bury the body next to his/her father, all honors restored. Epilogue If Bhelen becomes king, he rules as a reformist and works to strengthen Orzammar's connection with the surface world. He embraces military aid from Ferelden (if the Warden asked for this as a boon), reduces restrictions on trade with the surface and offers casteless greater rights and privileges in exchange for military service against the darkspawn. This policy allows Orzammar to reclaim lost territory and push the darkspawn line back past the Trenches, but angers the warrior and noble castes. After several attempts on his life, Bhelen dissolves the Assembly and rules alone. Opinion is divided as to whether he should be remembered as a tyrant or a progressive ruler determined to drag Orzammar into the modern world. Should the Anvil of the Void be preserved as well, Bhelen works with Branka to produce more golems. While this allows the dwarves to reclaim relics from old thaigs, eventually Branka refuses to make golems for the king alone and Bhelen bans its use. If Harrowmont becomes king, despite Bhelen's death, a rebellion borrowing his name rises against Harrowmont. Depending on whether or not the Warden preserved the Anvil, Harrowmont either fails to defeat the rebellion and dies of protracted illness or puts it down with the aid of the golems. Dragon Age II Making Bhelen king in Dragon Age: Origins and using the save file to transfer will enable the quest Last of His Line in Dragon Age II. Renvil Harrowmont tells Hawke that, in retaliation for Harrowmont's attempt to claim the throne, Bhelen has been systematically destroying House Harrowmont, ironically working through the Carta at least in part. Other dwarves will also mention how the new king of Orzammar is enabling more trade with the surface. Category:Dragon Age Villains Category:Conspirators Category:Traitor Category:Liars Category:Jingoists Category:Related to Hero Category:Charismatic Category:Status Dependent upon Player Choice Category:Wrathful Category:Deceased Category:Faux Affably Evil Category:Usurper Category:Murderer Category:Power Hungry Category:Parents Category:Monarchs Category:Successful Category:On & Off Category:Opportunists Category:Cheater Category:Tyrants Category:Necessary Evil